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A Vintage DIY Wedding Outdoors in Massachusetts

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Molly and Ken

College sweethearts Molly and Ken turned their vision of a slightly rustic and slightly whimsical garden party into a reality on September 11, 2010. Their Buzzard's Bay, Massachusetts, wedding incorporated vintage-inspired details with several DIY projects and plenty of charm.

Overbrook House hosted the wedding and also became the site of an informal family reunion, thanks to the many family and friends who came early to help with some of the final details. With their assistance, Molly and Ken were able to put together a beautiful, relaxed, and elegant wedding on the picturesque grounds of the Bay End Farm.

The Flower Girl

The Bride's Entrance

Tears of Joy

Because the bride and groom were adamant about not seeing each other prior to the ceremony, emotions were high during the afternoon nuptials. Here, Ken tears up at the first sight of Molly.

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The Ceremony

Ken's father officiated the ceremony, and the couple exchanged self-written vows. In a nod to the Jewish tradition of the Seven Blessings, seven family members wrote their own blessings and read them to the couple.

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The Toss

Small burlap bags filled with fresh lavender were given to guests to toss across the aisle as the newlyweds walked by.

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Portraits

Following the ceremony, Molly and Ken posed for a few portraits with photographer Eric Laurits in the property's woods.

Lawn Games

In addition to croquet, guests played cornhole as they mingled and enjoyed sangria during cocktail hour. To create the cornhole boards, Molly hand-painted unfinished boards with a pattern based on a Liberty of London fabric. Her mom sewed bean bags to match the wedding's other fabrics.

Photography: Eric Laurits

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A Handmade Touch

The bride also transformed flea-market benches with a coat of pool-colored paint and pillows sewn by her mother from natural linen and fabrics from Amy Butler Design.

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Cocktail Fare

Tomatoes are Ken's favorite food, and since the couple got married during the height of heirloom tomato season, a carving station was set up during cocktail hour. Olive oils and pestos were on hand for different pairings.

In addition to the day's other special elements, chalkboard signage written by Molly's sister, Kathleen, was accented with flourishes drawn by Molly's brother's girlfriend.

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Escort Cards

A painted screen door was used to display the escort cards. To create them, old labels with guests' names were mounted to card stock and skeleton keys were tied on with twine. Guests found the "key to their seat" before entering the dinner tent.

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The Reception Decor

Under strings of globe lights, farm tables from FarmTables4Rent were decorated with table runners sewn by the mother of the bride and floral-patterned china.

Outside the tent, a Liberty of London quilt served as a backdrop for guests to pose in front of for photos.

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The Centerpieces

Wooden planters from IKEA were stained and filled with ranunculus, lisianthus, freesia, irises, stock, wax flowers, and pink and coral garden roses. The women in the family gathered to make the centerpieces the day of the wedding.

"This was truly one of the most remarkable things I have ever been a part of," Molly says. "Walking around on the day of the wedding, I was positively gleeful watching all of my loved ones sitting together, working, and chatting with one another. The flowers filled the whole house with color and fragrance that morning, and also embodied the spirit of family and collaboration that I had been striving for when I began planning our wedding."

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Table Assignments

The same vintage labels used on the escort cards were affixed to glass water bottles. Guests then found their tables by matching up their labels.

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The Love Seat

The new Mr. and Mrs. Sherman sat in an old church pew at the reception.

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The Guest Book

To mark the guest book, Molly bought a banner of vintage fabric from Etsy vendor jump up and down. Guests used brightly colored note cards, set out in milk glass containers, to write marriage sentiments, then attached them to a set of hinged house shutters with clothespins.

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The Menu

Season to Taste Catering loosely crafted a menu of local, seasonal, and farm-to-table food beforehand and finalized it the day of the wedding based on what was freshest at the market that morning. The 110 guests dined on family-style salad with shaved green apple and roasted pecans, herb-crusted haddock with sweet corn and basil relish, rustic Yukon gold mashed potatoes, seasonal vegetables, and a duet of cider-braised beef with lemon and parsley gremolata and black-pepper-crusted steak with grilled-peach chutney.

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The Path

Candles in Mason jars lit the path that led from the dinner tent, through the woods, and down to the dance hall at Bay End Farm, which was built in the 1920s as a space for the owner's wife to practice her ballet.

When it was time for guests to exit the tent, they were escorted by the band, who played horns and drummed on buckets to the tune of "When the Saints Come Marching In."

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The First Dance

Molly and Ken kicked off the dancing as their band, Soul of Boston, played Queen's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love."

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The Dancing

Molly danced with her father to Little Richard's "Good Golly Miss Molly." Ken and his mother danced to "Forever Young" by Rod Stewart.

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Dessert

Season to Taste Catering prepared a variety of pies, including the bride's Grandma Lippert's apple pie, which makes an appearance at every family holiday. Molly fashioned the collection of cake stands from flea market china plates affixed to candlesticks.

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The Favors

In the weeks leading up to the wedding, Molly and her sister filled jars with homemade granola. A graphic design by Lucky Luxe Couture Correspondence reading "Merci Beacoup! Homemade Granola" was made into a rubber stamp by theRUBBERpress. Linen was then stamped and secured around the tops of the jars with a wrapping of twine.